(Finance) – The European Commission does not foresee any further extension of the general suspension clause of Stability and Growth Pact. This was stated by the European Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Paul Gentiloniduring the press conference on forecasts economic autumnal. “Then who knows, we weren’t expecting a war, but at the moment I’d say it’s completely out of our minds,” she added.
Gentiloni then stated that the slowdown noted by the European Commission in its forecasts of the decline in deficit public in Italy, which risks stopping in 2024, also slowing down the reduction of public debt, it is not a unique case in the EU and is understandable in light of the dynamics of the strong post-Covid recovery, after its particularly heavy impact. “The important thing now is to make the best use of EU resources PNRR and combine investment and growth with budgetary caution, “he stressed.” In a time of slowdown if there are tens of billions that can be invested inreal economywith all the difficulties that I know well, it is very important that these investments arrive, as they say, on the ground “, added the EU Commissioner.
As for the possibility that Italy will succeed in hitting the objectives to unlock the new one tranche of aid of the PNRR Gentiloni said: “that everything goes smoothly is not easy, because we all know how easy it is to develop reforms and investments in any country, and also in Italy. Having said that, in the contacts I had with the Italian authorities I had confirmation of the fundamental thing: that is that the government consider this as a very high priority “.
Finally, Gentiloni underlined the importance of the decision of the European Commission to ask itself the question of a new instrument common debt of the EU with which to finance loans to member states. “As for the common efforts – said Gentiloni answering a journalist’s question – I think that beyond the proposals we have made, and which I believe have been a contribution to the discussion, it is very important that this tool be rapidly varied. let’s call ‘REPowerEU‘, and that the Commission is asking itself the question of how to strengthen, even with mechanisms intervention loan-based common, the answer to this new great crisis, the crisis energy“.